Sarah Palin is no Ollie North

Commentators are now citing similarities between Sarah Palin and Oliver North. As a director of “A Perfect Candidate,” a behind-the-scenes documentary about North’s 1994 Senate campaign, I knew Oliver North. I spent months crisscrossing Virginia with Oliver North. And Sarah Palin is no Oliver North.

Sure, I understand the comparison. It’s revealing in many ways. The two have had similar trajectories. Like North, Palin seemed to go from obscurity to the white-hot national spotlight overnight. Like North, she made defying her critics a trademark from the get-go.

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Then, after Palin’s electoral loss, she, like North after Iran-Contra, was anointed a conservative martyr. After her best-selling memoir and barnstorming book tour, Palin has retaken center stage to prove, as North did, that American lives can have big second acts.

Their political styles also have plenty in common. Palin’s folksy idiom echoes North’s. Quick — did Palin call drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge “a neat idea,” or was that North on diverting arms-sales profits to the Contras?

Despite their ease at moving in elevated circles with power-player mentors, both have successfully positioned themselves as populist scourges of the elite.

Before meeting North, I was shocked by his ability to make preposterous statements with a straight face. Even his own aides were flabbergasted when, virtually from whole cloth, he spun the tale that incumbent Sen. Charles Robb had worn a Confederate-flag tie when he criticized the flag. Did Palin’s aides feel the same way when she first spoke about “death panels”?

After spending time with North, though, I realized that he is sincere, not cynical. He really believes the tall tales he tells — the taller the better. Though I haven’t had personal contact with Palin, I sense that same quality during her public appearances.

North certainly has a wider worldview: While Palin got her first passport when she was governor and touted Russia’s proximity to Alaska as a foreign policy credential, North served in Vietnam and later traveled (for better or worse) to Grenada, Nicaragua and Iran. North is no stranger to talking points — but he’s never been the kind of public speaker who makes you look for the inked notes on his palm.

Many liberals call both out of touch with reality, but grass-roots conservatives sense this sincerity and find it compelling. This creates its own political reality. I was impressed that North’s campaign raised a record-setting $20 million from donations averaging less than $100. Palin’s fundraising also skews toward small contributions — more so than for any other current presidential hopeful.

With all these similarities, why do I say Sarah Palin is no Ollie North? When I made the documentary, I found North to be more articulate, more informed and more intelligent than Palin.